Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 May 2017

:: National ::

CRPF to soon deploy a fresh CoBRA squad to Sukma district

The CRPF will soon deploy a fresh squad of about 2,000 commandos from its special guerrilla warfare CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) battalions in and around the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh to defang the Maoists and their arsenal.
Sukma and its adjoining areas have witnessed some of the deadliest ambushes on security forces recently like the one where 25 CRPF men were killed in the Burkapal area of the district on April 24.
At least 20 to 25 companies of the CoBRA are mobilised from their present locations in West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh to the Bastar region that has some of the worst Maoist violence-hit districts.

Govt accelerated efforts to finalise the ambitious Strategic Partnership model

The Government has accelerated efforts to finalise the ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model, which would give a major boost to private sector participation in defence manufacturing.
As part of the stepped up efforts, the Defence Ministry has scheduled consultations with the industry to get their feedback in the next couple of days.
The policy, which is part of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016, will set out guidelines on how major Indian private sector companies can tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers in critical military systems and platforms.
An interaction between the defence ministry and industry representatives was scheduled for May 11. It would be attended by Mr. Jaitley and Defence Secretary G. Mohan Kumar.
Major industry bodies and Indian private sector companies which would take the lead in the SP model had been invited. The final clearance would be accorded by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) and the meetings had been slotted.

Centre plans to tap MGNREGA to recharge remnants of ancient rivers

The Centre plans to tap rural employment guarantee funds to recharge remnants of ancient rivers — including the mythical Saraswati — in a bid to boost groundwater reserves.
Committee had been constituted to see how the Rs. 48,000 crore MGNREGSfund could be harnessed. “Reviving such palaeo-channels may not be useful for irrigation but it could improve groundwater storage,” said Ms. Bharti.
Palaeo-channels are old rivers that have dried up and filled with sediment. Last October, a committee of hydrologists, geologists and archaeologists — as part of study commissioned by the Water Resources Ministry — reported evidence on the course of the Saraswati, mentioned in the Rigveda and Hindu mythology.
The Markanda and the Sarsuti (now called the Ton-Yamuna rivers) watered the eastern branch of the river. The branches met in Shatrana, 25 kilometres south of Patiala and “flowed as a large river” emptying into the Rann of Kutch, the report said.
Building on this, a committee was tasked with scouting palaeo-channels across the country.
Wherever these channels were located, the soil was generally soft and therefore, it was easy to direct surface waters towards them and raise the water table, Ms. Bharti added.

China is prepared to consider renaming the CPEC for India

China is prepared to consider renaming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) if it would end India’s reservations over its One Belt One Road (Or Belt and Road Initiative) passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)
The Chinese Ambassador to India said, insisting that the OBOR has no connection to “sovereignty disputes.”
Mr. Luo outlined a 4-point solution to “manage differences” between India and China, including a new treaty on cooperation, restarting talks on a free trade agreement (FTA), an early resolution to the border issue and aligning the B&R with India’s “Act East policy.”
“The CPEC is for promoting economic cooperation and connectivity. It has no connections to or impact on sovereignty issues. Even we can think about renaming the CPEC,” Mr. Luo said, referring to India’s public opposition to the inclusion of projects that lie in PoK’s area of Gilgit-Baltistan.
According to the Chinese government more than 100 countries will participate, and all SAARC countries minus India have already signed on to the 60-nation infrastructure initiative first proposed in 2013.
No official Indian participation has been indicated so far.

:: Business and Economy ::

DIPP and WIPO have inked an agreement to set up TISC

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have inked an agreement to set up Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISC).
The WIPO’s TISC programme provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally-based, high quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential as well as to create, protect, and manage their intellectual property (IP) rights.
Over 500 TISCs operate worldwide and establishing TISC in India will give the host institutions access to the global network, it said.

India is taking trade barriers with US

India is planning to take up with the Trump administration the “barriers” imposed by the U.S., which are hurting Indian goods exports to that country in sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals and other industrial products.
India will raise this issue soon after the new U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) takes charge. They said this issue would also be on the agenda of the next India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum (TPF) — the main bilateral platform for discussing and resolving trade and investment issues.
According to the Indian Commerce Ministry, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has “arbitrarily” listed 23 items produced in India on the ‘List of Goods Produced by Child Labour or Forced Labour’ — which is in effect a ban on their import.
The Ministry said Indian industry is worried as the reports that the DOL relies upon are “not always accurate.”
The Ministry has also referred to the U.S. Government measures envisaged within an initiative to counter potential terrorist threats to the international maritime container trade system.
This included X-ray scanning of containers exported to U.S., a measure, the ministry said would cause additional costs for Indian exporters across sectors.
In addition, the Ministry has cited a law (the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 of the U.S.) allowing American manufacturers to petition for curbing imports from third nations on national security grounds without providing proof from industry.
Indian pharmaceutical exports to the U.S. are hit by the increase in registration fees, approval delays and low approval rates for registrations mandatory for sale of all new drugs in the U.S.
Also, ayurveda and traditional Indian medicines are hit by the U.S. requirement of clinical trials while the practice of traditional Indian medicine systems such as Siddha and Unani are not allowed by the U.S. Federal Government.
The Ministry has also opposed the U.S. requirement of irradiation treatment and inspection of mangoes prior to shipping from India.
The Ministry said this is a time-consuming and costly certification process hurting the competitiveness of Indian mangoes in the U.S. market. Indian grapes, litchis, pomegranates, honey, marine and meat products are also impacted by various U.S. “NTBs”.
Besides, the U.S. has imposed countervailing duties on Indian exports, including those by steel and paper industries.

Banks are still responsible for NPAs

Banks would still be responsible for taking commercial decisions on non-performing assets weighing down their balance-sheets, including possible haircuts, but scrutiny from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
And advisories from oversight committees on the processes they adopt should comfort bankers.
The Centre felt the need to empower the RBI to direct banks to take more effective action for unwinding bad loan accounts as NPA resolution efforts failed even in cases where lenders reached an agreement.
As much as 70% of non-performing assets in the banking system stem from accounts where multiple banks have lent to a borrower, as a consortium or individually.
All such bad loan cases above Rs. 100 crore are to be taken up by a joint lenders’ forum (JLF) as per norms.
As per the new norms for JLFs notified by the RBI, just 60% of lenders by value of the loan have to reach a consensus on the course of action to be adopted for an NPA compared with a 75% consensus requirement earlier.
The rest of the lenders are required to follow suit in such cases.
The oversight committees for JLFs, which the RBI has been enabled to constitute, could look into the processes adopted by lenders to arrive at a corrective action plan for specific NPA cases. But their recommendations would be advisory.